Himachal bypoll: BJP pits decorated war hero against Virbhadra's wife

By Vishal Gulati

Shimla, Oct 7 (IANS) The BJP has pitted Brigadier Khushal Thakur (retired), a decorated officer who played a crucial in the 1999 Kargil war, against Congress' Pratibha Singh, a former MP and wife of six-time Chief Minister, the late Virbhadra Singh, for the Mandi bypoll parliamentary seat in Himachal Pradesh.

The seat, a prestige for BJP leader and first-time Chief Minister Jairam Thakur, fell vacant with the death of two-time BJP MP Ram Swaroop Sharma on March 17.

Both Brigadier Thakur and Pratibha Singh are 65 years old. They will file nominations on October 8, the last day of filing papers.

Brigadier Thakur, a former Commanding Officer of 18 Grenadiers in the Indian Army played a crucial role in the counter attack at Tololing and Tiger Hills in the Kargil war two decades back, and has now been fighting for the rights of over 40,000 families. who lost their lands, homes and livelihood in the construction of the four-lane super expressway from Kiratpur to Manali.

Brigadier Thakur, who is currently chairperson of Himachal Pradesh Ex-Servicemen Corporation, was a strong contender for the ticket in 2019 Lok Sabha polls, while Pratibha Singh was chosen for this seat that his husband represented three times.

Pratibha Singh, who represented the Mandi parliamentary seat twice, has been fielded by the Congress despite strong claims by Ashraya Sharma, grandson of former Union Telecommunication Minister Sukh Ram, who was unsuccessful in the 2019 parliamentary poll.

Brigadier Thakur hails from Nagwain in Mandi district and retired in 2010. After retiring, he formed the Four-Lane Sangharsh Samiti six years ago and has been fighting for the cause of the affected families. Even he has lost the ancestral land to the highway construction.

However, Pratibha Singh has been banking largely on the sympathy wave in favour of her husband for winning the lone Lok Sabha seat for which the poll is slated on October 30.

Her husband, Virbhadra Singh, who remained at the helm of the state for a record six times, had devoted over 50 years for the common people despite being born in royalty. The veteran leader passed away on July 8 in Shimla at the age of 87, leaving behind a rich political legacy.

Pratibha Singh believes there is no harm in seeking votes in the name of her husband whose contributions to the state were remarkable.

"I believe the voters will pay homage to the Raja Saab by ensuring my victory," Pratibha Singh told IANS. She represented this seat in 2004 and 2013. However, she lost her Mandi seat to BJP's Ram Swaroop Sharma in 2014.

Her husband was elected from Mandi in 1971, 1980 and 2009. However, he lost the Mandi seat in 1977. At the time of his death, he was representing the Arki Assembly seat that is going for bypoll along with two other Assembly seats -- Fatehpur (in Kangra district) and Jubbal-Kotkhai (Shimla district) -- on October 30.

However, social activist Brigadier Thakur is banking on his integrity and connect with voters.

In the 2019 polls, Brigadier Thakur had filed nomination papers as the substitute candidate for BJP's Sharma for the Mandi seat, the home district of Chief Minister Jairam Thakur.

The Mandi parliamentary constituency, which includes the tribal-dominated Assembly constituencies of Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti and Bharmour, is one of the toughest and largest constituencies in the country.

The Congress candidate is quite confident of winning, and says that her husband Virbhadra Singh, called "Raja Saab" by party men and others, travelled to almost every nook and corner of the constituency both as a chief minister and as a parliamentarian.

"I am soon going to start my tour of tribal areas where my husband commanded a huge respect," she added.

The BJP candidate is also optimistic. He is banking on the results of the 2019 parliamentary elections in which the party got an absolute majority, and did particularly well in the tribal-dominated areas.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at [email protected])